


Jongin and his twelve spirits

by happyendingexo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, HEA_2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-23
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-03-22 23:21:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13774761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyendingexo/pseuds/happyendingexo
Summary: Jongin wakes up one day to see a strange invisible child and a small secret that will change his life





	Jongin and his twelve spirits

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt #287**
> 
> **Disclaimer:** The is a work of fiction. The names and images of the celebrities mentioned are borrowed and is not meant to represent the celebrities themselves. All original characters and plot belong to the author and is not to be reproduced and/or shared without written permission from the author. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** Thank you for my beta B who can do a quick beta for me  <3 <3 <3 Dear mods, I’m truly sorry that I kept asking for extension and I’m truly thankful for your understanding! ;u; I also want to thank N, N, and S for, you know >u<
> 
> I’m really interested in this prompt but I’ve been busy with work which made me not able to really brainstorm with the idea. You might spot a lot of flaws here and there and I’m sorry for that > < if there’s any part that you’re confuse with, you can mention it on the comment haha ^^” I hope the prompter will read this and leave a comment ^^ 
> 
> Capricorn — Kyungsoo  
> Aquarius — Minseok  
> Pisces — Seo Youngho  
> Aries — Sehun  
> Taurus — Baekhyun  
> Gemini — Junmyeon  
> Cancer — Lu Han  
> Leo — Tao  
> Virgo — Jongdae  
> Libra — Yixing  
> Scorpio — Yifan  
> Sagitarius – Chanyeol

Jongin thought that he was dreaming, but he was not. A little boy was staring at him when he was sleeping and was still staring even as he woke up, blinking his eyes few times. “Who are you?” he asked, voice coming out hoarse.

 

“Soo,” the boy answered. The boy had  large, innocent eyes, a cute button nose, and a pair of thick, red lips. His hair was black and shining. He reminded Jongin of Snow White somehow with his porcelain skin. He was wearing a blue hanbok and now that Jongin truly see him, he was really cute.

 

 

“Why are you here? Are you our neighbor’s kid? Is my mom taking care of you today? She didn’t tell me anything this morning…” Jongin hummed, scratching his head as he slowly sat upright on his bed .

 

“Your name?” the kid asked.

 

“Hmm? Jongin, Kim Jongin.”

 

“Jonginnie?” Soo tilted his head.

 

Jongin smiled, reaching out to pat Soo’s head, “Yes, Jonginnie.”

 

 

 

 

Jongin tried to call his mother but she didn’t pick up. She went to his grandmother’s house today, so  Jongin was left alone. One of his sisters had married and live in a different town while the other was renting an apartment near her office. He used to take care of his niece, but this boy was older and he was…quiet.

 

Jongin had brought Kyungsoo to the kitchen, asking what he wanted to eat. Soo only stared at him, which confused Jongin even more. So he decided to just reheat some food from the refrigerator and ended up with sweet egg rolls. After that he prepared two portions:  for him and for Soo; who was waiting at the dinner table.

 

“Here you go, eat it slowly, okay?”

 

Soo looked up at Jongin, then down at the food that was in front of him.

 

“You don’t like it?” Jongin took a seat across from Soo, wondering what the boy was thinking.

 

“Thank you for the food,” Soo finally said, taking the spoon and starting to eat.

 

Jongin grinned at that, and started eating his portion of food too. He watched the boy eat, as chewed slowly and carefully. He looked adorable holding the glass with his small hands when he drinks and Jongin bites his lower lip to hold his squeal.

 

“So, Soo, can I ask you something?” the boy nodded silently, “Why are you wearing a hanbok?”

 

Soo blinked. His brows made a little movement before he answered, “All of us wear hanboks,” he answered.

_All of us?_

 

“Oh, so your family always wear hanboks?” Jongin asked as he wondered if there was still a family who did that. People usually only wore hanboks on special occasion, but wearing it every day? It was a rare sight. Not to mention that it was hard to move on them.

 

“Family?” Soo parted his lips, pausing. “I guess,” he answered, sounding unsure.

 

“Do you have any brothers? Or sisters?”

 

“Brothers.”

 

“How many? All I got is two sisters and I kind of miss them now. I was always wondering how it was to have a brother, though,” Jongin chuckled, trying to imagine how Soo’s brothers look like.

 

“Eleven.”

 

Jongin’s head spinned when imagining twelve kids inside a house alt the same time. Soo’s parents must be tough to have that many children.

 

 

 

 

Soo was sleepy after he ate, so Jongin brought him back to his room. He thought that sleeping in hanbok would be uncomfortable, so he asked if Soo wanted to take off his hanbok.

 

“No,” he said, climbing to Jongin’s bed. He was facing the ceiling before he turned to the right, facing Jongin on the carpet. “Jonginnie?”

 

“Yes, Soo?”

 

“Where is your grandpa?”

 

Jongin frowned at the sudden question but smiled, “My grandpa passed away three years ago. Have you met him before?”

 

Soo’s eyes started to close, his body slowly curling up, “Yes, I miss him…” he whispered, fully closing his eyes.

 

Jongin pursed his lips, leaning in and put his chin on his bed, watching Soo’s sleep. The boy was really adorable, and Jongin wondered if this was how it felt to have a brother. He heard some of his friends who were closed with his brothers, how they shared the same hobbies and played together.

 

Soo didn’t look like a playful kid, maybe the type who preferred to stay inside the house to read a book. The thought made Jongin smile, he should bring the boy to play outside sometime in the future.

 

 

 

Soo was still asleep when Jongin’s mother went back. Jongin quickly went to the living room, greeting his mother.

 

“Mom, why you didn’t tell you’re taking care of the neighbor’s kid?”

 

“What?” Jongin’s mother asked as she took off her shoes, tilting her head to Jongin with one hand on the wall.

 

“The kid, mom. How can you leave him alone and didn’t wake me up?”

 

“What are you talking about, Jongin?” his mother frowned, looking confused.

 

“Uh, the kid? Soo?” Jongin crossed his arms, his mother wasn’t playing with him, was she?

 

“Soo? I think I heard that name befo—oh.” His mother gasped, “Oh my god, what’s today date?” she went inside towards her bedroom.

 

“Today is…March 12 I guess?” Jongin followed his mother. She opened her cabinet, searching for something with a serious face.

 

“Mom, what is it? You really don’t know that there’s a kid in our house? I mean, who is he then? How did he get inside?”

 

“Wait a minute, Jonginnie, I’m sure it’s here somewhere…” his mother kept searching until she found what she was looking for; a tin case on the very back of the lowest drawer. “Today is March 12, it means that…” she opened the case, revealing letters inside that were all wrapped with plastic. Taking the first letter, Jongin could recognize his grandfather’s writing on the front. She opened the letter and read it, “Yes, yes, it’s my fault for forgetting it. I should have told you about this before, but I completely forgot.”

 

Jongin sighed, taking a seat beside his mother, “Mom, what is it?”

 

“Your grandfather’s friend is visiting,” her mother said, handing the letter to Jongin.

 

Jongin read it, trying to understand what his grandfather wrote on it. “Mom, I’m going to be honest; I don’t understand what he’s talking about,” he ran a hand in his hair, a little bit irritated that he still hadn’t got the answer of who Soo was.

 

His mother smiled, patting Jongin’s thigh, “The men in our family  are  special, Jongin. They can see spirits, specifically the zodiac spirits. Your grandfather used to tell me stories about them,” she smiled, hands putting the letter back inside the envelope and placed it back in the tin case.

 

“And now it includes me?” Jongin asked in a tone of disbelief, pointing at himself.

 

“I don’t know who’s this kid you’re talking about, but if you tell me how he looks like, I can confirm it for you,” his mother explained.

 

“Well, he’s…young. Seven, eight years old, maybe. Dark hair, big eyes, white skin?”

 

“Ah, Kyungsoo.”

 

“He told me his name is Soo,” Jongin tilted his head.

 

“Yes, your grandpa called him that. It was easier to say, he said.”

 

“Do normal humans really can’t see him?”

 

“I can’t see them, but I heard that some of them could show themselves to others.” His mother narrowed her eyes, “I think I saw a glimpse of one of them before, but I don’t know who.”

 

“So you’ve never seen them?”

 

“Sadly no, Jongin.” She shook his head. “I’m going to start preparing dinner, why don’t you go back to Soo? I remember he clinged a lot to grandpa,” after putting the case back into the drawer, she stood up, ruffled  Jongin’s hair on her way out.

 

Jongin stared at the window, this was not a big deal. He just have friends that people couldn’t see.

 

 

 

 

Kyungsoo was up when Jongin returned to his room. Jongin paused on midstep though because something was different with Soo.

 

“W—what’s that?”

 

Soo blinked, “What?”

 

“O—on your head! Is that…” Jongin closed the door, walking towards Kyungsoo, crouching down. “Is that a horn?”

 

“Ah,” Kyungsoo lifted his hand touching his small horn, “My horns.”

 

Jongin couldn’t control it anymore, he leaped forward, hugging Kyungsoo, “So cute!” he squealed. Pulling away, he grinned, pinching Kyungsoo’s chubby cheeks softly, “You’re really, really cute. I don’t mind having you as my brother, Soo.”

 

“But I’m not,” Kyungsoo stared, brows slightly frowned.

 

“Am I going to meet your brothers? Are they as cute as you?” Jongin focused on the horns, examining it.

 

“They’re annoying,” Kyungsoo whispered, meeting his eyes with Jongin’s surprised ones. “You’re going to meet them tomorrow, if you want.”

 

“Of course I want to! Mom said Grandpa loved spending his time with you guys,”

 

Kyungsoo had a soft look hearing that, lips parting before biting his lower lip. It was a different kind of expression he made, showing what he felt for the first time. “I miss him,”

 

Jongin sighed, bringing Kyungsoo closer to his chest, “I miss him too, Soo.”

 

 

 

 

 

It was weird to sleep with someone who was a lot smaller than himself. Jongin was afraid he might crush Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo fell asleep not long after he turned off the lamp, head slightly tilting to Jongin. Jongin brought Kyungsoo to the dining room for dinner and his mother really couldn’t see him. She left them alone, saying how weird it would be to see the chopsticks moving on itself, making Jongin laugh and almost missing seeing  Kyungsoo’s lips curling up a bit.

 

Jongin is really, really excited to see the other zodiac signs. He still didn’t know why his family could do this, his father didn’t have this ability as his grandfather was from his mother’s side. His mother only knew few things too and wasn’t that much of a help. Jongin really needed to do some research on it.

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin felt something off when he woke, but then remembered that it was a new day and Kyungsoo was still staring at him in the same way like the day before.

 

“Good Morning,” Kyungsoo greeted with small voice.

 

“Good Morning!, what time is it?” Jongin asked

 

“6:30 A.M.,”

 

Jongin sighed , “I still have time,” he yawned, stretching his body.

 

“Are you going to school today?”

 

“Yeah,” Jongin sat up slowly, eyes on Kyungsoo, “Why?”

 

Kyungsoo shifted his gaze down, shaking his head.

 

“You wanna come?”

 

“I can’t,” Kyungsoo shook his head again.

 

“Why?”

 

Kyungsoo sat on the bed, pursing his lips. “I don’t have enough power. It’s not my month, so I can’t go out whenever I want to.”

 

“It’s not your month?” Jongin stood up to fold the comforter, waiting for Kyungsoo to answer.

 

“This house of yours has a power. My energy comes from it, and because my body is small, it can only hold a certain amount. I get stronger when it’s my month, where I become a grown up and I can go to any place I want because I can store more of my powers in that body,”

 

It was the longest answer Kyungsoo had ever gave him. Jongin was happy that Kyungsoo shared more of himself, but that sad look on his eyes told him not to smile.

 

“Is there a way so you can go with me?”

 

Kyungsoo shook his head, “I don’t know. The other's never told me about it.”

 

“The other's, you mean other zodiac signs?” Kyungsoo nodded at Jongin’s answer. Jongin would love to bring Kyungsoo to many places, he kind of planned it before, to know more about Kyungsoo, seeing him as his brother but the fact that Kyungsoo couldn’t go anywhere disappointed him somehow.

 

“I’m sorry, Soo. If only I can help.”

 

“It’s okay, Jongin. I’ll be waiting here.”

 

“Maybe we can ask the others later, I will try to find a way too. Maybe Grandpa has wrote about it in his letters.”

 

“Thank you, Jongin.”

 

“You’re welcome, Soo. Now I’m going to get ready, okay?” Jongin ruffled Kyungsoo’s hair again, chuckling when Kyungsoo trying to pull away.

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin was worried about Kyungsoo. He was young, small and his mother couldn’t see him. Had he eaten already? But then again, he was a spirit, he might not need to eat in the first place. He might look young but Jongin was sure he was years older than him, older than his grandfather even.

 

Zodiac was it?  The horns that Jongin saw, what was it? He was never familiar with the zodiac, he needed to find out more about it.

 

When break time came Jongin ate the food his mother made. This time Jongin ignored his friends who were talking about girl groups, new movies, or music. He needed to learn about Kyungsoo and his brothers.

 

It was April and the zodiac sign for it was Aries.

_Aries — the Flying Ram Guided by the story of the Golden Fleece, an Aries is ready to be the hero of the day, fly away and carry many endangered, powerless people on their back. The power of the ram is carried on his back, for he is the gold itself, shiny and attractive to those ready for betrayal. The story of glory that isn't easy to carry is in these two horns, and if this animal doesn't get shorn, allowing change and giving someone a warm sweater, they won't have much to receive from the world. Each Aries has a task to share their position, power, gold, or physical strength with other people willingly, or the energy will be stopped in its natural flow, fear will take over, and the process of giving and receiving will hold balance at zero._

 

Jongin didn’t know if reading about the zodiac would help with anything. He knew about the 12 zodiac signs. He knew his sign was Capricorn, but he knew nothing about the rest of the signs. Wouldn’t it be easier to meet the person themselves?

 

 

 

 

Going back home to be greeted by Kyungsoo was pleasant. Kyungsoo stayed in Jongin’s room, looking up from the book in his hands.

 

“Soo,” Jongin greeted, putting down his bag before hugging the boy.

 

“Welcome home, Jongin.”

 

“I was worried about you all day long. What were you doing while I was away?”

 

“Reading. This book is interesting,” Kyungsoo showed the book that was in his hands.

 

“It's called comics, Soo. I’m glad you enjoyed reading them.” Jongin ruffled Soo’s hair as he stood up again, now going to his cabinet to get some clothes as he was going.

 

“Are you busy tomorrow?

“Nope, I only have one class tomorrow so I can go home early.” Jongin closed the cabinet door, “I’m going to clean up for a bit.  Let’s eat after this,” Jongin waved his hand a little as he went to the bathroom.

 

Feeling refreshed, Jongin walked out of the bathroom, small towel hanging on his shoulder as he hadn’t wear his shirt yet.

 

“Do humans your age have bodies like that?”

 

“Huh?” Jongin blinked at the sudden question. Kyungsoo was staring at him, a hand on his own belly. “I don’t think so. I usually went to the gym twice a week and I worked hard for this…”

 

“Oh.”

 

Jongin put his shirt on, offering his hand to Kyungsoo after to go to the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

“Do you usually eat?”

 

“Rarely. We don’t need food, only energy. We can still taste food though, and I enjoy it sometimes.” Kyungsoo clapped his hands, thanking for the food.

 

Jongin smiled, Kyungsoo ate very neatly, something that was weird to see on kids his age. “What’s your favorite food?”

 

Kyungsoo pursed his lips, brows frowning, “I don’t know the name. But we eat it after we eat...rice? It has a triangle like shape, the colors are different; sometimes it’s dark brown, sometimes it’s yellow and white. Sometimes there’s something red on top.”

 

“How is it taste?”

 

“Sweet.”

 

Jongin had an idea of what it was, searching the image on his phone and showing it to Kyungsoo after. “This?”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes sparkled, “Yes. Your grandpa gave it to me before.”

 

Jongin really wanted to pinch Kyungsoo’s cheek but he held himself, “It’s called cake and we have so many different kinds of it. I wish I can bring you to the cake shop so you can try other other delicious desserts. I guess I’ll just choose for you?”

 

Kyungsoo’s eyes were hopeful. He gulped, “If…if it’s not a trouble.”

 

“Of course it’s not! I’ll buy them tomorrow, okay? And talking about tomorrow, you asked me about my schedule. Why was that?” Jongin took the dishes to the sink, turning on the tap to start cleaning.

 

“One of the signs wants to meet you. Can he?”

 

“Should I buy a lot of cakes tomorrow?” Jongin chuckled, glancing at Kyungsoo through his shoulder.

 

“It’s just one person. They don’t want to overwhelm you, or that’s what they said.”

 

“Sure. I’ll be happy to meet all of them when the time comes.”

 

“That’ll be a mess,”

 

Jongin laughed. It had only been a day and Kyungsoo started to tell him what he felt, even if it's just a little. He wondered what kind of person he would meet tomorrow. He read through all the signs and it was amazing that you could know a part of people’s personality through their signs. He knew that not all of them were true, that the environment you grown up with would affect your behavior and personality.

 

“Say, Kyungsoo. You’re a Capricorn, right? Is it just me or I feel like we’re a different type?” Jongin set aside the clean plates, drying his hands on the towel before turning around.

 

“We are a lot similar than you think, Jongin.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin’s mother stared at him when he was talking about the movie he was watching. He paused, “I’m not talking to myself, mom. Kyungsoo is here. And he says   _hello_ ,”

 

His mother chuckled, shaking her head, “Nice to meet you again, Kyungsoo. I hope Jongin didn’t make you uncomfortable or anything.”

 

“I’m not. He said the same thing.” Jongin narrowed his eyes when Kyungsoo parted his lips like he wanted to say more, yet only shrugged.

 

“Alright. I have a wedding invitation later and I’m going with your father. Have fun, you two,” she smiled, waving to Kyungsoo whom she couldn’t see.

 

“Thanks, mom.” Jongin smiled, turning to Kyungsoo back after his mother went upstairs. “Where was I?”

 

“Super power. You say I have to watch around five more movies.” Kyungsoo reminded him.

 

“Oh, yes. The movies are great, we should have a marathon tomorrow if you want.”

 

“What’s a marathon?”

 

“Meaning we watch movies all day long,” Jongin heard his phone ping, taking it to check the message.

 

“I have been wondering, what is that, Jongin?”

 

“Phone.”

 

“Can I?” Kyungsoo asked, eyes focused on the device in Jongin’s hand. He held it carefully after Jongin gave it to him. “It’s different than the one your grandfather used.”

 

“Of course it is. You can do many thing with this phone, wait, let me borrow it for a second,” Jongin took the phone back, turning on the camera. He stretched his hand, taking a photo of himself and Kyungsoo. “Let’s see…” he showed to Kyungsoo who widened his eyes.

 

“Wow, it’s us.” Kyungsoo said in awe.

 

“Yep, this way we can make memories.” Jongin wanted to put it on his background scene, “Will people see you on this photo, though?”

 

“I…don’t know.” Kyungsoo blinked.

 

“But the camera captured you?” Kyungsoo shrugged. Jongin still set it as his scene background, smiling to himself. “Anyway, Soo, I’m going to—“ he jerked when suddenly Kyungsoo held his arm tightly. The strength from his small hand was no joke because it hurt so badly, “Hey, are you okay?”

 

“J—jongin, I’m—“ Kyungsoo grunted, falling forward to Jongin, his other hand gripping Jongin’s shirt, “It h—hurts, ughh…”

 

“H—hey, Kyungsoo? What’s happening?”

 

“I’m sorry, I ha—“ Kyungsoo was in the middle of talking when he suddenly vanished. Jongin opened his mouth in shock, the boy was gone in a flash of eye and nothing left. No more small hands gripping on his own, yes he could see the redness it left behind.

 

“What the…”

 

A loud bang came from the upstairs and Jongin truly jumped in his seat. He sprinted to his room, to where the voice came from, opening his door loudly to find a man sitting in the middle of the room.

 

“Damn it, that kid ran away!” the man cursed, punching his fists on the floor. He looked up, meeting his grey eyes with Jongin’s. His angry face softened slowly, “Oh. Shihyuk’s grandson.”

 

“Who the hell are you?”

 

The man smirked, stretched out his legs, leaning his body with his hands, “I’m Sehun, nice to meet you.”

 

Jongin got a bad feeling. With Kyungsoo gone and this man came out of nowhere, this man must be, “Aries?”

 

“That’s me,” he waved his hand.

 

“Where’s Soo?”

 

“Ah, a little problem. He’ll be back later. You see, he kind of broke the rules. He shouldn’t be meeting you without telling us, but he said he couldn’t wait until his month came, so he went to see you anyway. He ran away this time but it won’t be long until the others get him.” Sehun moved his feet to the left and right, looking bored.

 

“What?”

 

“No need to worry, the others will take care of him, punish him, whatever,” Sehun shrugged, “What’s your name?”

 

“Jongin,” Jongin swallowed. This Aries gave a bad vibe for some reason.

 

"Okay, Jongin. Why don't we go out now?"

  
  


 

Sehun literally dragged Jongin outside of the house. They went to the mall where the man with white hair excitedly pulling him here and there to each stores. Jongin couldn't help but keep thinking about Kyungsoo. Asking it to Sehun who only told him not to worry was no help at all.

 

How could he? Kyungsoo disappeared before his eyes and Sehun didn't want to tell him what happened despite knowing it. He mentioned about running away, from what? Why did Kyungsoo have to run away from his friends?

 

"Jongin, stop thinking. He's fine, you'll meet him again tonight," Sehun snapped his fingers in front of Jongin's face. He looked annoyed.

 

"Why can't you tell me more about Kyungsoo? About yourself, maybe? I don't want to be rude but you just dragged me here knowing I don't want to go. I don't like it." Jongin pulled his hand when Sehun tried to grab it.

 

"Alright, why don't we go eat somewhere and I'll answer what you want to know about us?"

  
  


 

"I ordered, now answer my questions," Jongin demanded.

 

"Sure, go ahead."

 

"Where's Kyungsoo now?"

 

"At our place."

 

"Why was he suddenly gone? And why were you at my room?"

 

"He invited me to go to your room. He was gone because the others were calling for him. He's been missing for few days, you know? He isn't supposed to be at your house. It's my turn, not his. He broke the rules." Sehun frowned, biting his nails.

 

"What rules?"

 

Sehun sighed, "You really don't know about any of us, do you?"

 

"I'm sorry but no. My grandpa didn't leave me much clue," Jongin shook his head.

 

"Rule no. 1: do not go visit your master when you are not being called. Rule no. 2: only the sign of the month could visit master freely. Rule no. 3: be kind to each other." Sehun hummed, "There are like 20 but those are the most important rules," he smiled when the waitress brought their drink, quickly sipping it.

 

"Who’s Master?"

 

"You. You are our master, Jongin."

 

"What do you mean? Like, what power do I hold to become your master?"

 

"Your blood. Your presence itself. You are our strength, that's why Kyungsoo couldn't wait to meet you." Sehun finished his drink, calling the waiter to order one more.

 

"How about you?" Jongin asked after drinking.

 

"Me? I know my time will come, so I wait. I'm not like that little boy, I like your grandfather but for a different reason. I like him as my master, not someone—" Sehun gasped, clutching his chest. "Damn it..."

 

"S—sehun?"

 

"Ah, that little boy always... I'm sorry Jongin, I need to go now. Someone will come—" he shut his eyes, mumbling something under his breath before he vanished, just like Kyungsoo.

 

"Is that a zodiac spirit habit, leaving their master alone?" Jongin huffed, leaning on his chair asa he stared at the empty seat across him. "It's not like I want to be the master..."

  
  
  
  


Jongin decided to roam around, buying some snacks and two shirts while he was at it. When he was back at home, he wasn't surprised to find Kyungsoo waiting for him. What surprised him was the cut on his cheek. His hanbok tattered here and there as  Jongin stood on his place on the door.

 

"I'm sorry, Jongin," Kyungsoo whispered.

 

"Are you okay? I thought you shouldn't be here. You're not allowed to be here. Is that why you're... what happened to you actually?" Jongin felt tired all of a sudden. Today was exhausting, he needed to rest instead of worrying about a spirit.

 

"They got mad. They attacked me."

 

"And that's because you broke the rules, Kyungsoo," Jongin went out of the room to find the medicine box, sighing as he sat on the bed to tend Kyungsoo's wounds.

 

"Are you mad at me too?"

 

"Yes. I'm mad at you, at your friends, and grandpa."

 

"I'm sorry, Jongin. I didn't mean to—"

 

"Shut up, Kyungsoo." Jongin snapped as he glared at Kyungsoo, making the boy flinch. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened and was glistening with tears in an instant. Jongin felt a tug on his heart but he ignored it, focusing on gently cleaning Kyungsoo's wounds.

 

Kyungsoo was trembling. Jongin glanced up to find him biting his lower lip, holding in his sobs.

 

"Kyungsoo," Jongin called softly after he finished.

 

"Y—yes."

 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. I just... It's frustrating you know? You suddenly showing up out of nowhere, Sehun did the same and I don't know if the next minute new sign will come to me and then vanish the next minute." Jongin let out a breath, taking Kyungsoo's small hands in his own. "Can't you call all the signs here? I think I need to have a talk with them?"

 

"I can't. They're not allowed to, I told you." Kyungsoo hiccups as he clenched tighter on Jongin’s hands.

 

"But you're here." Jongin stated.

 

"Because—" Kyungsoo stated at Jongin, a tear rolling down his cheek, "I want to be here. I don't care if they got mad, I don't care if I get hurt, I just want to spend my time with you."

 

Jongin huffed, pulling Kyungsoo to his chest, "You're not playing fair, Soo."

 

Kyungsoo cried silently on Jongin's chest with Jongin's hand caressing his back.

  
  
  
  


Kyungsoo fell asleep after, curling on Jongin's chest while Jongin regretted for snapping at the boy. He might looked like a kid, but Kyungsoo was older than Jongin. He was like an adult at times but sometimes he acted like a kid his age.

 

There was a knock on his door and Jongin didn't feel like answering it. When the knob moved, Jongin expected to see his mother, not Sehun.

 

"I'm being polite and don't want to shock you or anything," he whispered, closing the door. Walking near the head he tilted his head to Kyungsoo, "Sleeping?"

 

"Yes,"

 

Sehun pursed his lips, eyes moving around the room. "I'll just wait for him to wake up, then." he went near the shelves and taking a book, before flopping down on the small couch beside it.

 

Kyungsoo stirred half an hour later, blinking sleepily at Jongin.

 

"Wake up, your friend is here."

 

Kyungsoo frowned, "What?" he jolted when Sehun talked in his ear,

 

"Did you miss me?"

 

Kyungsoo's eyes opened in an instant, hand moving to smack Sehun but was stopped by Sehun’s hand. Sehun smirked at him while Kyungsoo growled, taking his hand back.

 

"Be nice, you two." Jongin warned

 

Kyungsoo sat up, moving to Jongin's side and stayed there. Sehun lifted an eyebrow at that.

 

"Seriously? Using master as protection?" Sehun teased as he rolled his eyes

 

Jongin sighed and looked up at Soo, "Kyungsoo, Sehun had been waiting for you to wake up. I'm expecting you  explain to me about the twelve signs and I want to hear from the start till the end."

 

"Let me do it," Sehun raised his hand.

  
  
  


The way Sehun explained things were short and to the point. Jongin got all he needed in less than ten minutes, yet it only made his head hurt even more.

 

"I don't get the competition between you guys. Why the hate towards Kyungsoo, why are there rules of not seeing your master. Can I change the rules?" Jongin rubbed his temple.

 

"You can actually," Sehun said.

 

"But?"

 

"But there will be chaos. Can't you imagine it? 12 people in the same room? We will each try to get your attention, you are our source of power, we want to be able to help our master." Sehun stared boredly, playing with the sheet as he put his chin on top of it while sitting on the carpet.

 

Jongin smiled bitterly, "You're right."

 

"If you want to change the rules, that's fine. My suggestion is that you follow the the current ones for a year, so you can learn and imagine what will happen if you change them."

 

"Sehun is right. We need time to adapt too if you're really going to change it," commented Kyungsoo.

 

"Now that Jongin understands more about us, he’ll need time to think, and rest. We should go back, Soo." Kyungsoo was about to reply but Sehun made a 'shh' sound. "Won't you follow sign of the month for once in front of master?"

 

Jongin saw Kyungsoo went from being angry to begging silently at Jongin before he reluctantly moved from Jongin's side.

 

"We'll come back tomorrow, Jongin," Sehun put a small smile, looking soft and relax for the first time.

 

"See you," Jongin waved to the two signs who nodded, before vanishing in the air.

 

Jongin flopped on his bed when they were gone. This was too much. Sehun was right, he wouldn't be able to handle 12 person at once. It was only the beginning but he hated it already. With the conflict between the signs, he wasn't sure he would be able to solve and help them. They were not needed anymore as Jongin wasn't a fortune teller, but would he be that ignorant to give them order not to show up?

 

Having a new friend was always a pleasant experience for Jongin but not this. He needed to be careful around each signs, especially Kyungsoo. The boy obviously became attached to him already and if he treated him differently, it would only anger the others.

 

Jongin should really rest when he had the time, from now on he wasn't sure if he would have a normal life anymore.

  
  
  


Neither Kyungsoo nor Sehun showed up the next day, the very next one, or the following days after.

 

Jongin was worried but he brushed it off, focusing on attending classes, finishing his assignments and working out.

 

His mother surprisingly asked about Kyungsoo but he only answered that its complicated, which she understood completely and said that it was the same for his grandpa too.

 

Two weeks after Sehun finally came, looking ready to go. Black leather jacket on top of cartoon shirt and a pair of washed jeans and a pair of slippers.

 

"This is Saturday and it's 7 in the morning," Jongin said when the man woke him up.

 

"I know, that's why."

 

"The mall isn't open yet."

 

"We can take breakfast near here," suggested Sehun.

 

"Can I please go back to sleep for another hour?"

 

"But Jongin,"

 

"No but. Order. Wait. Wake me up later." Jongin turned his back toward Sehun, not bothering how the man looked and went back to sleep.

  
  
  
  
  


It was fun this time, Sehun politely asking if Jongin want to go to that store, or this store, watch this movie or that, letting him choose the restaurant even.

 

"Why are you being nice, now?"

 

"Huh?" Sehun had his mouth open wide to eat the meat.

 

"You weren't like this the first time we go out together."

 

"Oh. Just want to test you to see how you react," shrugged Sehun. "You're quite a patient man."

 

"Huh."

 

Sehun chucked, "You're different than your grandpa, I like that. Your sign is different, that's obvious."

 

"Say, Sehun? Kyungsoo is a Capricorn, right? Do you think I'm similar with him?" Jongin asked before taking a bite.

 

"Yeah. At some parts. Do you want to know about him?" Sehun tilted his head.

 

"Can you?"

 

"Yes. But I don't guarantee he wouldn't be angry to you if you found out about it. Do you still want to know?" Sehun had a teasing smile on his lips and Jongin scrunched his nose.

 

"Fine, don't tell me then." huffed Jongin, stabbing at his meat a lot harder than it supposed to.

 

"Kyungsoo will open his secrets to you in no time, Jongin. He likes you a lot. All you have to do is find the right time and words to persuade him."

 

Was it important to know about Kyungsoo's secrets? He already heard enough from Sehun, but there was this small something inside of Jongin that made him want for Kyungsoo to tell him everything.

 

"I think I should focus more of the signs relation. Like who are you close with?"

 

Sehun grinned, "Easy. Gemini, Leo, and Sagittarius."

 

"Alright, tell me more about them."

 

"Gemini, two faces. Leo, easily angry. Sagittarius, can't keep still."

 

"Something nice, Sehun," Jongin huffed.

 

"It's more fun if you find out yourself what quality of them that you like, or to know if you're compatible with them or not, Jongin. I actually can bring someone with me right now if I want them to accompany me meeting master."

 

Jongin hummed, "Will there be more trouble?"

 

"Depends. Even if there is, as a master, I think you have to be able to control him. All of us. We follow your order, we are here to help you so it's normal if you tell us to do this or that." Sehun called for the waitress, asking for the menu.

 

"Did my grandpa do that?"

 

"Nope. Excuse me, can I have this and this, please?" Sehun said to the waitress. She noted his order and took the menu back, nodding before going away.

 

"He's the master who never gave us orders. He thought of us as  a toy, I could say. He liked to have fun by making us play the game he made. It was dangerous though, he always promise to grant the winner's wish and that made us driven to win. It made us want to win no matter what. Not healthy. Bad memories." Sehun scrunched his nose in dislike, shaking his head. "Please don't do that. I know you're not a fortune teller, but please use us to help you, instead of to humor or amuse you. It hurt us badly that time. We can't say no, because if we do, there would be punishment."

 

Jongin knew his grandfather was a strict person. He wanted the best for his grandson and granddaughter so he expected a lot from them, encouraging them, giving them advice based on his experience in life, watching the result of their hard work.

 

There were times when his grandfather sighed in disappointment, but he never truly voiced it out, smiling and telling Jongin that he did a great job.

 

He could never imagine his grandfather would think of the spirits as toys. He hadn't read all the letters his grandpa left, but now Jongin was curious. His writing would show if he did have fun playing with the signs.

 

"Virgo is available, want to meet him?" Sehun asked, stopping Jongin's trance.

 

"Is there a reason why a sign isn't available?" Jongin questioned with a quick of eyebrow.

 

"Having fun. Wandering alone. Meditating. Practicing. Cleaning. A lot, actually. We're not that busy,  we rest only when we need to. Your grandpa taught us more about human world and we became kind of obsessed with this glimmering yet dark world," Sehun shrugged.

 

"Will it be okay if I left you guys alone? It's not like you have to be near me to have energy, right?" Jongin knocked the table with his fingers absentmindedly.

 

"And there's where you are wrong. We are not near you but your house is the door to our world. In our world, there’s this big tree and it’s connected to your house. It’s near the temple in our world. The closer we are with you, the more easy it was for us to breathe. I'm not talking about close like this," Sehun gestured to them, "Close as in master and signs spirits’ relations. That's why despite hating your grandfather's game, we can't help it because we got a good effect from it."

 

"I still don't know what I'm going to do with you guys," Jongin confessed, leaning on his chair.

 

"Just take your time, you'll figure it out." Sehun winked, offering Jongin the desserts when they arrived.

  
  
  


 

Taurus—In the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest works of literature, Taurus is sent by the goddess Ishtar to kill Gilgamesh for spurning her advances, while in early Mesopotamian art it was closely associated with Innana, the Sumerian goddess of sexual love, fertility and warfare. Although many cultures have had a story connected to the sign of Taurus, the most vivid myths are those from ancient Greece. There are two of them, both linked closely to the king of gods, Zeus (his Roman equivalent was Jupiter).

 

 

The month of Sehun was nearing its end. New sign would come to Jongin and he was anxious. This particular sign was mischievous, he heard. He wasn't very good with that kind of person but if he was bearable, then there should be no problem.

 

The next day Jongin opened his eyes, he had three pair of eyes staring at him, making him scream in shock. One of the sign that Jongin hadn’t meet before laughed at him.

 

"My job's done here. Jongin, I'll see you soon, okay? Taurus's here, I'm gonna go," child Sehun patted Jongin's knee who sat up and still heaving in shock.

 

"Uh, yeah. See you, Sehun." and Sehun poofed in the air. Jongin watched the new sign smiling, waving at him.

 

"Hello, Master! I'm Baekhyun, nice to meet you!"  

 

Jongin shifted his gaze from Baekhyun to Kyungsoo with sleepy eyes, "Are you close with him?"

 

Kyungsoo just shrugged as an answer. Baekhyun slapped his back, causing Kyungsoo to hissed at him, narrowing his eyes in a glare, "No,"

 

Baekhyun laughed again, grinning to Jongin, "I tease him a lot, so it's normal. I can't wait to have a good time with you, Master!"

 

Jongin shut his eyes, "Can you stop calling me master?"

 

"Just Jongin is fine?"

 

"Yeah,"

 

"Alright! What are we going to do today, Jongin? Can we go to the mall too? I want to watch movie! I want to eat delicious food too! Wait, wait, I heard this really fun place called amusement park!" Baekhyun started to bounce on the bed in excitement.

 

"I'm sorry, we can't go today. I have classes. Maybe on the weekend," Jongin yawned, taking his phone from the side table to check the time and any new messages.

 

"Aw, really? It's too bad... Soo's excited to go too, you know?"

 

Jongin flicked his eyes to Kyungsoo who widened his eyes to a grinning Baekhyun.

 

"I—I'm not!" Kyungsoo squeaked.

 

"You are, Soo. You want to try different games, you even ask Sehun to find out more about it! It's too bad you have to wait for your time, though..." Baekhyun leaned in to hug Kyungsoo, patting his back.

 

"Ugh, let me go!"

 

Another one who annoys him, huh? Jongin watched in amusement.

  
  
  


Kyungsoo looked like he was irritated by Baekhyun clinging to him all the time, but the boy didn't always push him away or anything. He only huffed, glared, or stayed in his place while Baekhyun did whatever he want to him.

 

"You know, Jongin, Kyungsoo got scolded for going to you without our consent. Now that we all know how much he likes you, we promise to bring him once in a while with us when our time come. He's not even the youngest, but we all try to be nice to him. He's your grandpa's favorite, I think he wants to be your favorite too," Baekhyun said one day when Kyungsoo was sleeping on his lap.

 

It was such a cute sight that Jongin couldn't help but take a picture of it.

 

"What are you doing?" Baekhyun asked when Jongin was taking his picture.

 

"Making memories," Jongin smiled fondly at the result on his phone. He then set the picture as his background image and yes, he wouldn't get bored staring at it.

 

"Hey, Jongin?"

 

"Hmm?"

 

"I just want you to know that we don't want to bring any trouble for you. We really don't want to break the rules that were made, but it would be nice if you can make a change quickly so the others wouldn't... get jealous of Kyungsoo," Baekhyun stared at sleeping Kyungsoo, gently playing with his hair. "Can you imagine being bound by rules just to see someone you respect or admire?"

 

"No," Jongin answered quietly, taking a seat beside Baekhyun.

 

"I won't force you. I know you're not ready to meet all of us at the same time and place, but there's a way for you to reach out to each and one of us. That’s if you truly want to change the rules, even without meeting all of the signs."

 

"I'll think about it, Baekhyun," Jongin nodded. "But, Baekhyun?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Am I really affecting you guys a lot? Like what if... What if I tell you guys to stop coming to me? All of you need my energy after all," Jongin stared at Baekhyun, seeing the sign went blank.

 

"There's only one master who told us to do that and it was devastating to all of us. It was certainly a really bad time. Being physically far from our master made us weak and we have to endure it for years, until that master was gone. I'd rather not to go through all of that again. Being abandoned by our master, feeling not needed affected us badly that we didn't feel happy even in our world. The spirits fought many times because of the bad energy." Baekhyun inhaled, showing a painful expression that Jongin took his hand, squeezing it.

 

"I'm sorry, I'm just asking," whispered Jongin.

 

Baekhyun nodded, eyes still distant, "Please don't do it? If we bother you that much, we will make a schedule so we can visit you although not frequently."

 

"I won't do it, Baekhyun. I will let you guys come anytime you want, just...maybe not as much when I'm on my exam period?" Jongin smiled when he made Baekhyun laugh albeit quietly, minding a sleeping Kyungsoo. Baekhyun grinned to Jongin, putting his hand on top of Jongin's.

 

"I'm glad to hear that, master."

  
  
  
  


Kyungsoo refused to let go of Jongin. He was angry at Baekhyun for letting him sleep instead of spending time with Jongin. It wasn't like Kyungsoo couldn't stay, but he promised the others he would come only with a company of other sign and Baekhyun was going back.

 

"You can stay, Soo. I'll tell the others not to worry," Baekhyun said.

 

"No! Just give a sec!"

 

"You mean an hour?" Baekhyun laughed when Kyungsoo had the time to glare at him.

 

"We'll play tomorrow, Kyungsoo, okay? Baekhyun looks tired." Jongin patted Kyungsoo's head, frowning when Kyungsoo was glaring back at him.

 

"I'm not a child. I don't want to play, I want to talk with you."

 

"You can talk to me tomorrow, Soo."

 

Kyungsoo frowned deeply, burying his face to Jongin's chest before he let go. "Fine..." he went to Baekhyun's side, taking his offering hand.

 

"See you guys tomorrow," Jongin waved his hand. He felt a little but guilty when Kyungsoo refused to met his eyes while Baekhyun waved back to him before they were gone.

 

"Nine to go," Jongin sighed, lying on his bed. Baekhyun wasn’t bad, just a little bit noisy at times, but it was normal for someone who rarely goes out and see how society worked. Jongin thought that instead of a friend, he would be a guide for the spirits to experience new world after years not going to their world.

 

It was too bad Kyungsoo couldn't go, Jongin wondered what Kyungsoo would love to go or to do. He liked to watch and read some books when he was waiting for Jongin, maybe he could buy him some new books in exchange?

 

Or maybe he should ask Baekhyun.

  
  
  


Baekhyun's eyes sparkled when Jongin said he wanted to buy Kyungsoo something. He pulled him here and there to search for the gift and Jongin got a déjà vu. No, it happened with Sehun and Jongin kind of regretted it.

 

"Food is a must! He might not look like it, but Soo likes food! Books? Yeah, I guess he likes to read, you can choose for that one. What about clothes? Jongin, he must look adorable in human clothes, don't you think? He only wears the hanbok it's so boring!"

 

Jongin admitted that he admires the love Baekhyun felt toward Kyungsoo. He knew exactly what the boy would like and it was hard for Jongin to refuse his suggestions. Jongin bought Kyungsoo two books, two pairs of clothes, a pajama set and... an enamel.

 

"Why are we buying him this?" Jongin asked seeing the Sakura shaped enamel.

 

"Because Soo loves Sakura. The Sakura in our world is so much prettier than in here, but in here, we can watch it with our master. I'm sure he'd love to do it with you.”

  
  
  


Spending time with Baekhyun was splendid. He was a bit noisy but in a good way. Baekhyun learnt to stop asking for things with Kyungsoo beside him, tugging his clothes when he started to annoy Jongin.

 

Baekhyun was reluctant to go, he loved being with Jongin, he said. He liked sleeping in his bed, with Kyungsoo and Jongin. He said that he liked to sleep together with the other signs, but not all of them liked to be bother by him and his sleeping habit. It wasn't bad, only whimpering once in a while and for a heavy sleeper like Jongin it wasn't a problem as it didn't wake him up.

 

"I don't wanna go..." Baekhyun whined, rubbing his head to Jongin's arm, making a whiny sound and pouting like a child.

 

"Baekhyun stop it," Kyungsoo hissed, gripping Jongin's other hand.

 

"Maybe you can make a deal with Kyungsoo if you want to switch places with him, going with the other signs to see me," Jongin smiled at Kyungsoo's shock face. "If he allows you to," he added.

 

"Ahhhh!!! it'll be hard to make a trade with Kyungsoo. He's so hard to negotiate with if it's about you, Jongin." Baekhyun whined.

 

"True." Kyungsoo nodded.

 

Jongin chuckled, patting both the signs' back, "I'm sure you guys can work it out. Maybe three times a month, Baekhyun?"

 

"That's a lot! I'd be grateful if Soo says yes!" Baekhyun turned to Kyungsoo with sparkling eyes, making Kyungsoo frown, shaking his head lightly.

 

"Please?" Baekhyun pouted, eyes falling down, "Soo? I love you, you know... I know you love Jongin so much but I promise I won't take him or anything. I mean, just taking him out to go on places but nothing more than that, yeah?"

 

Kyungsoo narrowed his eyes. Baekhyun winked at him, grinning before pouting back and blinking his eyes in a cute way only to make Kyungsoo groaned.

 

"Fine. Three times a month," Kyungsoo huffed. He squeaked in surprise when Baekhyun jumped on him, kissing his faces.

 

"I love you so much, Soo!"

 

"Get off me!"

 

Jongin grinned widely, taking his phone to captured the moment.

 

He hoped the next sign wouldn't be a problem.

  
  


Gemini—The myth of Gemini is a myth of Castor and Pollux, sons of Zeus and Leda. Leda was the wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. One of the versions of this myth states that Leda got seduced or raped by Zeus disguised as a swan, on the same night when she shared a bed with her husband. As a result, she hatched two eggs from which four children were born, mortal and immortal for they have different fathers, and among them – Castor and Pollux.

 

Castor was the mortal twin brother, and Pollux was immortal. They never fought and loved each other greatly. Pollux was known for his boxing skills and Castor as a horse tamer. Brothers aspired to marry two women who were already betrothed to two of their cousins. This lead to a family feud and Castor was fatally wounded by one of the cousins as a consequence. Zeus gave a choice to Pollux – to spend every day as an immortal at Mount Olympus among the gods, or give half of his immortality to his brother Castor. He opted for the latter, and the twins shared life and death, by spending a day at Olympus together followed by a day at Hades – the underworld.

  
  
  
  


"Wake Up, Jongin,"

 

A voice called. Hands were shaking his body and Jongin whined, pushing the hands off.

 

"You're going to be late, Jongin."

 

Not his mother's voice, definitely not. Who does it belong to, then?

 

"Kim Jongin, wake up now or I'll spray you with water."

 

Jongin grunted, pressing a hand to his forehead as he turned around, facing where the voice came from and opened one eye.

 

A man was staring at him. Pale skin, black hair, and a very handsome face. He looked like a prince on the movie or the manhwa belonging to his sisters, especially wearing that expensive looking dark green Hanbok.

 

"Are you the new sign?" Jongin cleared his throat, ending up coughing a little.

 

"Here, water," the man offered, taking it from the side table.

 

Jongin nodded in thanks and slowly sat up, gulping down.

 

"Nice to meet you, Kim Jongin. I'm Gemini, my name is Junmyeon. I know we should tell each other more than my name but please take a bath and go to your class first" Junmyeon tilted his head, frowning that perfect brows.

 

"Yes, Gemini." Jongin sighed, walking to his bathroom.

 

"May I sit on your bed?"

 

"Yeah," Jongin nodded to Junmyeon before closing the door.

  
  


 

What a polite sign, was Jongin’s impression of Junmyeon. One hundred eighty degree different from other friendly signs.

 

Jongin thought of Junmyeon, he didn't look like a gemini that he read. Maybe because they were stranger? When they got closer maybe Junmyeon would show his true self.

 

Jongin waved his hand in goodbye to his friends after his last class, going back home. He passed by a cake shop on his way and decided to buy some for Junmyeon, he might like them.

  
  
  


"Thank you, Jongin. I appreciate it. I will try..." Junmyeon blinked twice, "Isn't this too much for the both of us?" he asked when he opened the cake box.

 

"Well..." Jongin chuckled seeing the five different types of cakes. "I used to buy many for Sehun and Baekhyun, just a habit I guess."

 

"Oh," Junmyeon nodded.

 

Jongin let Junmyeon chose two flavors, before he chose another two. The shared the last one together.

 

Junmyeon was silent while he ate. He truly acted so formally, the way he moved, the way he ate.

 

"Are you some kind of prince?" Jongin blurted out in curiosity.

 

"I'm sorry?"

 

"You're so different than the other three signs I have met," Jongin shrugged.

 

Junmyeon pursed his lips, "I want to give a good impression to my master," he answered before taking a drink.

 

"I prefer for you to be yourself? But I mean, if you're not comfortable yet, I won't force you or anything," Jongin smiled. He stared at Junmyeon who looked unsure suddenly, nodding slowly after few seconds.

 

"I will, don't worry. It's just that it's been a while since the last master so I'm not sure what to do." Junmyeon relaxed his shoulder, slumping a little. "You do know how your grandfather treated us, right?"

 

"I do," Jongin confirmed.

 

"I have  bad memories about it. I heard from those three that you are nice. I just don't know if you will treat me the same as other signs."

 

"I won't do anything weird, Junmyeon. I won't do what my grandpa did, I will treat you all like my best friends that coincidentally other people couldn't see." Jongin grinned when Junmyeon's lips pulled up into a smile. This sign was very handsome indeed, Jongin somehow felt a little bit self—conscious.

 

"I guess I can see why Kyungsoo adores you so much. Just like Sehun and Baekhyun," Junmyeon nodded more to himself, "I want to be useful for you in any way, so please, don't hesitate to ask for help from me. I will try to do my best."

 

Jongin shook his head, "I think I won't need it unless it's an emergency. But thank you for that, Junmyeon. It's really nice seeing you smile and starting to get comfortable."

 

"Thank you, Jongin." Junmyeon crinkled his eyes and his smile grew wider.

 

"Now, can you tell me about the other signs?"

  
  
  
  
  


"It's night already, I think I'll excuse myself," Junmyeon said as he saw the sky already turned dark.

 

"Won't you stay and have dinner with me? You can also sleep here if you want. Kyungsoo and Baekhyun did it almost all the time." Jongin frowned, not liking the idea of Junmyeon going. He got quite a lot of stories of the other signs and he loved it, but Junmyeon wouldn't be mad if he found out that Jongin recorded it, right?

 

"Uh, I think I'll just go back for now. I'm... I'm not sure if I can sleep in a bed with my master," Junmyeon smiled sadly, rubbing his neck. "Maybe next time I'll bring Kyungsoo here so we can all sleep together?"

 

"Not a bad idea. Do bring him next week though, I don't want him to get used to be around me that much," Jongin sighed. He kind of missed Kyungsoo, but Junmyeon was right. Having Kyungsoo clinged to him all the time wasn't good for neither of them. It wasn't fair for the other signs too so he should make some boundaries about other signs bringing Kyungsoo along whenever the boy wanted.

 

"Oh, yeah, Jongin? I think the other forgot to tell you about this."

 

Jongin looked up Junmyeon who was smiling in a teasing way. "What is it?"

 

"Just so you know, we're not an adult all the time. We are kids in our world, so you might want to reconsider coming to our world. You might get a headache." Junmyeon laughed.

 

Jongin imaged twelve little kids calling for him and pulling him in different directions. Maybe that was how it felt to be a kindergarten teacher?

 

"Well, I do like kids. I think I can handle 12 kids in one time...?" he frowned, doubting himself. Junmyeon told him how beautiful his world was and it made Jongin want to visit the place.

 

"We will see later, then." Junmyeon smiled, waving his hand before he disappeared.

  
  
  
  
  
  


"Jongin. I'm sorry but this is urgent. You need to come to our world, there has been some troubles with some signs."

 

Junmyeon didn't come for a week and the next time he chose to come was when Jongin just finished his shower, almost having a heart attack because Junmyeon wasn't alone. He was with someone whom Jongin hadn't seen before.

 

  


"Please wait a minute, I need to wear some clothes..." Jongin gulped, quickly taking clothes to wear and went to the bathroom. When he was back in his room, the other man who was taller than Jongin looked so intimidating as he approached him. The man bowed ninety degrees.

 

"Nice to meet you, master Jongin."

 

"Nice to meet you?" Jongin swallowed. The man looked scary and this was the first time Jongin met a man who stared like he wanted to eat him.

 

"We must hurry, master. Please take our hands and close your eyes." the tall man said, brows furrowed and silently asked Junmyeon to come closer.

 

Jongin took both of their hands and closed his eyes. A strong gushes of wind whirled around his body and Jongin gritted his teeth, feeling a headache suddenly coming and an urge to vomit. It stopped in few seconds and Junmyeon told him to open his eyes.

 

"Are you alright?" Junmyeon asked

 

The tall man was quick to catch Jongin who could barely stand.

 

"Thank you. But I feel like vomiting..."

 

"Your first time would be bad, but the next time would be a lot better. Pardon me, master," the man said, putting his palm on Jongin's forehead.

 

It felt so warm, and nice, that Jongin didn’t realize that he was slowly losing consiousness

  
  
  


"I said back away! Don't you dare come near him! I told you not to bring him! Just punish me, why can't you do that! Don't bring him into this mess!"

 

"Don't be childish, Kyungsoo. You know we all want his attention. You've been with him all these months and that's not fair."

 

"I don't care! It's not like all of you truly want him to be your master! You're scared! You don't want him to be like our previous master, none of you want him to be our master after watching him! You're all lying in front of him! Every each of you!"

 

"Kyungsoo?" Jongin called in a whisper, wondering why Kyungsoo was screaming and to whom he was screaming.

 

"Jongin!"

 

"Master!"

 

"Back off!!!" Kyungsoo shouted.

 

Jongin flinched, opening his eyes slowly to see Kyungsoo—no, a man, holding him on his arms. "Kyungsoo?"

 

"Jongin? Are you alright? How are you feeling?" the man who was holding him asked. He looked a lot like Kyungsoo. That fair skin and big eyes. He was not Kyungsoo though, he was like a grown up version of Kyungsoo.

 

"Where's Kyungsoo?" Jongin asked, trying to turn his head around but the man prevented him.

 

"It's me, Jongin. It's Soo!"

 

Jongin frowned, "But he's a kid."

 

"Kyungsoo, let me talk to him. Someone need to explain what's happening right now,"

 

Jongin heard Junmyeon's voice, seeing him coming to his vision.

 

"Master Jongin, can you sit up? I'm afraid we all need to have a talk about this."

 

Jongin tried to sit up, with an adult Kyungsoo helping him. He still felt dizzy but it was better. He was leaning on Kyungsoo who was behind him, almost sitting on his lap and that was when he realized they weren't alone. There were many people inside the room.

 

"Are all of you here?" Jongin asked.

 

Junmyeon smiled, nodding. "Let us introduce ourselves again. We are the zodiac spirits. Twelve of us."

 

Jongin felt a hand on his shoulder and he felt a little bit thankful of Kyungsoo who was supporting his body.

 

"Alright, before that, can the sign who knock me out do that to me again?" Jongin asked in sarcasm.

 

The said man step up, lowering his head, "I'm sorry, master. I thought you would feel better if I do that. I didn't mean to knock you out. Just forcing you to rest so you would feel better," he explained. "I'm Scorpio, I'm sorry for doing it without asking for your permission."

 

"Can you heal my headache?" Jongin nodded lightly.

 

"I...yes, if you want to, master."

 

Jongin gave his permission and this time, he didn't pass out. He felt a much, much better after Scorpio touched his forehead. Kyungsoo was reluctant to let him go, but Jongin assured that he was fine. Kyungsoo refused to leave his side, so Jongin let him sit beside him.

 

"Now, can you all sit according to your months? It's easier for me to remember who's who." Jongin instructed. "So far I've meet four of you. I only spend a day with Junmyeon and he's back only to tell me there's an urgent problem. I want to hear it from you, Scorpio."

 

"This has happened a few times before. It's about Kyungsoo who keeps breaking the rules. We caught him before he did it but he...lost control of his power."

 

"What power?" Jongin asked. He eyed the other's expressions. There were few who looked agitated, while the others look normal.

 

"He strangled those who tried to stop him," Yifan said, running a hand on his face.

 

Jongin turned to Kyungsoo who bit his lips, staring to the floor. His hands fisted on top of his knees. "I see. May I ask what the previous master did for those who broke the rules?"

 

Kyungsoo snapped his head up, looking pale so suddenly.

 

"H—he...kept him in a cage for a week."

 

"What cage?" Jongin frowned. A spirit inside a cage? How was that possible?

 

"Spirit cage. Your grandfather made it himself with other sign's power upon request. When you're inside it you will only have negative thoughts. Spending time in there could make you feel like killing yourself," Sehun spoke up, staring straight at Jongin. "Each of us had broke a rule and we had been there on that cage. We don't suggest you to do that kind of punishment."

 

"Sehun!" Junmyeon hissed.

 

"I'm just telling him the truth!" Sehun defended, shrugging.

 

"I appreciate you for telling me this. The easiest way to solve this is to allow all of you to meet me, whenever you want. My only rules is never to bother me when I'm busy with my studies. I will think of other punishment for Kyungsoo, and all of you in the future but for now, I want Kyungsoo to be left alone in his room." Jongin turned back to Kyungsoo, "You have one, right?"

 

"Yes," Kyungsoo nodded.

 

"I'll have a talk with the others and one of them could tell you later of what you missed. You're dismissed Kyungsoo." Jongin said. Kyungsoo nodded silently before he stood up. He walked out of the room, closing the door gently.

 

Jongin sighed, "It's tiring to become strict. Can we stop all this formality now?" he smiled tiredly, crossing his legs and propping his head on his knees.

 

Someone raised a hand, waiting for Jongin's permission. "Will you change the rules about our energy consumption too?"

 

Jongin blinked. He needed a guide to this zodiac spirits world because he didn't had a fucking idea how to be a master for twelve different people.

  
  
  
  


“Next,” Jongin said, smiling to Youngho who just talked to him. Junmyeon gave an idea to make each sign introduced themselves and talk about suggestion for rules changing and Jongin thought it was a good idea. He didn’t know it would be this tiring, though.

 

“Master, may I help you a little? Being with all zodiac will drain your energy,” the next zodiac said. He had mischievous look, straight brows and kitten like smile yet his eyes were full of worries.

 

“Uhm, what are you going to do to me?” Jongin asked, staring at the zodiac’s open hand.

 

“Restoring your energy, lowering our energy consumption.” the zodiac smiled, nodding when Jongin put his hand on top of him.

 

Jongin closed his eyes, feeling lightheaded for a moment before he felt like he just had a good rest. He unconsciously closed his eyes and when he opened it he saw the zodiac was smiling to him. He formed a smile on his own, “And your zodiac?”

 

“Libra here! My name is Jongdae, master Jongin!”

  
  
  


 

After the 2nd person Jongin asked for papers and a pen. When he was done he had took quite some notes and he really needed to think about it thoroughly. Wrong moves or decisions would lead to the sign hating him, just like his grandfather.

 

Seeing the various shape the signs were, Jongin couldn’t help but smiled. They were all adorable, whether on child form or adult form, they were all interested in the human world. The banning to come to the human world was the one that made them even more curious of Jongin’s world.

 

Knowing that his grandfather would make punishment for innocent signs only anger and confused Jongin. Just how bad was his punishment?

 

“Can someone bring me to the spirit cage?” Jongin frowned when all of them went silent. They looked at each other and finally one of them raised their hand.

 

“Please follow me, master Jongin,” said Luhan, the Cancer.

 

Jongin followed the child into the deepest part of the house. The house was a traditional one and quite big. It was decorated in warm autumn color and there were flowers here and there and Jongin wondered who decorated them.

 

When they finally reached a big door, Jongin could feel a chill running down his body and he shared a look with Luhan.

 

“Even master as a human could feel it too,” Luhan pursed his lips.

 

“You’ve been here, right? For how long?” asked Jongin, raising his hand and touching the door. It felt cold and Jongin gulped.

 

“The longest is five days. The other had it worse than me, to be honest. Kyungsoo had only spend two days in there, because your grandfather loved him so much.”

 

“Can I go inside?” Jongin turned to see Luhan nodding to him.

 

“You can, but it won’t have any effect on you. Luhan inhaled, stepping forward and opening the door slowly.

 

“You can go inside, master. I’m sorry but I can’t go inside or I will lose my mind too,” Luhan smiled sadly, stepping aside from the door. “I’ll be waiting here, master.”

  
  
  


It was only a long, dark hallway with a small light in the end of it. Jongin couldn’t see anything but when he got closer to the lamp, he was shock to see Kyungsoo sitting on a small chair. The boy was staring into nothing, eyes looking tired. His hair and clothes were disheveled.

 

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin tried to call, but there were no movement from Kyungsoo. Jongin kneeled in front of Kyungsoo, touching his knee to find any reaction.

 

There was nothing.

 

Jongin swallowed, hand reaching to cup Kyungsoo’s cheek and that was where he realized that Kyungsoo had been crying. There were tracks of tears and his eyes were puffy.

 

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo.” Jongin whispered as he took Kyungsoo into his arms. The boy was cold and Jongin’s heart clench at it. He took big steps out of the room, to where Luhan was waiting.

 

Luhan’s eyes widened when he saw Jongin and Kyungsoo. “M—master? Why Kyungsoo is with you?!”

 

“I don’t know, I found him in there. Let’s go to his room!”

 

Luhan led Jongin to Kyungsoo’s room. Jongin only took a small scan to the neat room and quickly put Kyungsoo on the futon. Luhan went out of the room in a hurry and Jongin could only stare at Kyungsoo without knowing what to do. The boy was still staring into nothing and his body was weak. Jongin took his hand to hold it and it was warm, which was relieving at some point. A moment later Luhan came with Jongdae who climbed the bed, putting his hand on top of Kyungsoo’s chest and whispered something to him. It felt so long but it was less than a minute before Kyungsoo blinked his eyes.

 

“Kyungie?” Jongdae called, brushing Kyungsoo’s cheek gently.

 

Kyungsoo shut his eyes, squirming and turning to Jongdae, pulling his hand from Jongin’s hold. “Dae-ah, I’m tired…”

 

“Yes, yes, you can sleep now.” Jongdae said to Kyungsoo who was curling up to him. “Master, you may leave us now. He’s alright and you can visit him again later when he’s better.”

  
  


 

“Why he’s in there?” Jongin whispered outside the room.

 

“I think he feels guilty, master. He decided to punish himself in there.” Luhan answered in a whisper.

 

“But what if no one’s checking on him? How long would he stay in that cage?” Jongin ran a hand on his hair, feeling frustrated.

 

“Then he would suffer. He sometimes doubt himself. There were few masters who made him felt that way and those people also were the one who punished Kyungsoo,”

 

Jongin inhaled, staring at Luhan who smiled sadly. “Just what am I supposed to do with him?”

 

 

  
  


Maybe the biggest problem was Kyungsoo.

 

Wasn’t he the one who disrupt the good dynamic between the signs? Wasn’t it because that he was selfish that the others had to prevent him to break the rules? It was fairer for the signs to meet recording on their months. But Kyungsoo didn’t want that. He was the favorite and he would like to be the favorite again. Weren’t all of them wanted to be the favorite?

 

Luhan was showing Jongin the way to his grandfather room and Jongin decided to ask about the favoritism.

 

“We know that human wouldn’t be able to be fair. We have different masters before and each one of us had become a favorite at one point, so it was not a problem. We never got jealous because mostly they were fair, they understood what we need and gave it to them, in exchange for getting our power.”

 

“Is my grandfather the only one who gives punishments?”

 

Luhan stopped in front of a door, smiling softly, “This is your grandfather’s room. You can find lots of notes about us to read. You can find many answers there, but if you want to know from our opinions, you can always come to each of us and we will gladly answer it for you, Master Jongin.” he said before nodding and leaving Jongin alone.

 

Jongin opened the door slowly and he was greeted with the scent of spring; flowers, a little bit of sun, and a calming breeze. The image of his grandfather came to his mind and it stung his heart a bit.

 

The room was neat, the futon was folded on the corner of the room and there were a small bookshelves near the opened windows. The room was all white with the accent of wood from the bookshelves and a small table which also had many books on top of it. Jongin smiled, feeling at home already and lied down. He took one book randomly and found a romaji written on the first page.  

 

_Leo_

_July 22—August 22_

 

_Tao_

 

Jongin read the book for the first five pages and he could already tell what kind of sign Tao was. He sat up, searching for more books about the signs. There were only eleven of them and Jongin sorted the book to find out which book was missing.

 

Of course it was belong to Kyungsoo.

 

Jongin sighed, staring at the books on the shelves. Just where was his grandfather hide it? Jongin ended up spending half an hour to sort his grandfather’s book, finding some interesting books which he would read later on and put it aside. When he couldn’t find Kyungsoo’s book he started to wonder and remembered that one time he accidentally found a book on his grandfather’s—Jongin quickly reached for the pillow inside the futon and reached inside of it. He grinned when he found a book and pulled it out.

 

The first page had Kyungsoo written on it and Jongin smiled.

 

Why did his grandpa hide it, though?

 

Diligently reading each page, Jongin didn’t find anything different. It was until he reached the last page and found a small child’s writing on the corner.

 

I’m sorry…

 

There was no doubt that this must be Kyungsoo’s writing.

 

Jongin thought and thought again. It might be Kyungsoo’s fault but it was also Jongin’s. Because Jongin was lenient towards Kyungsoo. Because Kyungsoo was the first spirit Jongin met.

 

Because Kyungsoo had the same sign as him.

 

  
  
  
  


“You know, you’re really nice as a master Jongin. You have a kind heart but you need to know how to control us even if that’s not what you want?” a child form Jongdae said that night when Jongin called him to his room.

 

Jongin felt like living in the spirit world for a moment just so he could really finish the problem with the signs and focus more in his study without having to think of the signs all of the time. Jongin was still a student and he needed his degree, needed to have a good track record if he wanted to have a good job.

 

“I don’t want to control you, I just—”

 

“Master, I apologize to cut you, but you do need to control us to a certain point. We have different characters, we want to have personal time to spend with you and we don’t get along all the times. We know you don’t need us anymore and we’re truly sorry that you’re feeling burden with us around you. We would love to lessen your time to meet us and we are truly will be alright with your decision in the end.” Jongdae inhaled deeply, smiling.

 

“The thing is, I don’t know what to do with Kyungsoo...I think it’s my fault that he got attached to me from the start. I still forget sometimes that he’s not a kid anymore, even if at times he acts like a child.” Jongin frowned when Jongdae laughed.

 

“He was like that before, he used that advantage since long before. Not all masters were tricked, but actually, not only him, but us too. We like to be pampered, one of our masters said that we are more like a pet than spirits. We like to be pamper whether we are on our child form or adult form. We just like being with our masters so much because the energy, the feeling we got inside is so different and so calming in a way.”

 

Jongin nodded, dropping his head on the small table with Jongdae sat beside him. “What do you like to do with your master?”

 

Jongdae raised his eyebrows before he was grinning like a kid, “I like to play with them! As much as I’m interested in human world, I prefer to do sports or games!”

 

“Did you do it with my grandpa?”

 

Jongdae nodded, “When he was young. After that he was busy with his family and rarely took me or other signs out. He rarely visited us too.” he pursed his lips, “And then suddenly he was gone, just like that.”

 

Jongin reached his hand out to pat Jongdae’s head, making the sign smiling and closing his eyes.

 

“Why are you calling me here, master?” Jongdae asked, copying Jongin’s position, putting his head into the low study table.

 

“I feel like it. I want to know more about the other signs to make sure I come to the right decision.”

 

Jongdae hummed when Jongin brushed his head gently, “Thank you for coming here and staying, master. It’s been a while since I’ve felt...this…”

 

Jongin blinked when he saw Jongdae slowly closed his eyes and his breath got even. The Virgo fell asleep and Jongin smiled, straightening his back and slowly moving Jongdae to his futon.

 

Jongdae curled to Jongin who sat beside him, as if seeking for his warmth.

 

“As long as you follow the rules that I make, I guess it’ll be fine…” Jongin whispered as he watched Jongdae’s sleeping face.  

  
  
  
  


Spending time on the sign’s world, Jongin got to know different types of people, some who reminded him of his family members and his best friends. He got to know more about these signs, learning about people’s personalities. He didn’t truly believe that two persons with the same sign would have the exact same personality, but he knew they would have some similar traits.

 

He divided his time with all the signs, especially those whom he hadn’t met before. Baekhyun was clingy when he had the time with him while making dinner, while Sehun sounded cool but laughed here and there when Jongin scolded Baekhyun.

 

Junmyeon was still polite to him, but he was eager to share his stories with him, just like the others. Yifan was shy when Jongin called him, looking nervous when Jongin asked him questions about himself. His gummy smiled at the end reassured Jongin that Yifan would slowly opened up to him.

 

Luhan and Jongdae was lovely, Jongin was convinced that those two would never make any trouble although Baekhyun stated otherwise.

 

Jongin spent a day with Youngho and Minseok and it was such an interesting day as Youngho liked to tell many stories while Minseok and Jongin listened to him. Jongin tried to make Minseok engaged more into the conversation and in the end he also shared some of his stories, even if they were not as many as Youngho.

 

Tao liked to play outside with Jongin, joined by Yifan and Chanyeol. The signs were still wearing their hanboks; with Tao wearing yellow, Yifan rich red, while Chanyeol light blue. They had fun and despite feeling tired later that night, Jongin loved to see the happiness in their eyes.

 

In those few days Jongin didn’t take much attention to Kyungsoo whom he saw kept staying in the corner of the room. Their eyes meet few times, yet Kyungsoo already diverted his eyes before Jongin could say or smile to him.

 

Kyungsoo didn’t try to get Jongin’s attention also, calling for the other sign who were not with Jongin and pulled him to another room. Even when Jongin was going back to his world, Kyungsoo refused to see his eyes or said his goodbye and only clinging to Yifan’s side.

 

Jongin already told the sign not to visit him for a week. He would give extra time for Junmyeon because this was his month.

  
  
  


For a week Jongin focused on his classes and assignments. He was too busy that he didn’t have the time to think of the signs at all until it was Sunday where he found a note on his desk. It was from Junmyeon, asking if he could visit the next day and Jongin smiled, replying his note and left it where it was.

 

Two days after Junmyeon woke him up in the morning, and Jongin spent the rest of that month with Junmyeon beside him.  

  


 

Luhan’s interest was high, and Jongin felt like he was spending time with a kid who asked so many questions. Luhan realized it when he asked too much, grinning shyly and telling Jongin that it was time for him to rest, or reminding him that he had assignment or test to study for.

 

And Luhan reminded Jongin that he still hadn’t solved one problem with the signs.

 

“Master Jongin?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Can I ask you something?”

 

Jongin hummed, taking more popcorn and eating it while watching variety show with Luhan.

 

“Do you...hate Kyungsoo?”

 

Still with cheeks full of popcorn, Jongin turned to Luhan, making him laughed and touching his own cheek. Jongin munched and swallowed before he asked, “What?”

 

“Kyungsoo misses you, master Jongin.” Luhan chuckled, taking popcorn for himself.

 

Jongin inhaled hearing it, scratching the back of his head. “I think he’s the one who hate me? He doesn’t talk to me at all…”

 

“He’s making spaces, holding himself because he finally realized that yes, it’s not only him that needs you. He won’t hate you, master, he loves you a lot you’re all he talks about before.”

 

“How about now?”

 

“He’s wondering when he can meet you again.”

 

Jongin groaned, “I need to be fair. His month is still far away, I haven’t gotten to know all of you while he already spent a lot of time with me. Somehow I forget to deal with this problem about  Kyungsoo...”

 

Luhan had his head on the sofa, sleepy eyes staring at Jongin with a weak smile, “But he likes you the most. He’ll be waiting until you’re ready to talk with him again.”

 

Jongin ate more popcorns before he continued, “I want to talk with him, I just don’t know what to say. I don’t want to take your time just to talk with Kyungsoo. Like some of you said, he broke the rules and—”

 

“I have no problem giving few of my days just to make both of you clear this...problem between yourselves. Junmyeon said that you seemed like you’re forcing yourself at times,” Luhan shrugged, “I don’t really see it, but I noticed that you look like you’re thinking of something. I know it’s not something related to your study, master.”

 

Jongin pursed his lips, patting Luhan’s arm lightly, “Thank you for your concern. I’ll think about it more, Luhan.”

  
  


Without realizing it, Tao’s month had come and Jongin spent his time outside the house, playing some sports and watching his school’s tournament with Tao who really loved it. Tao was cheerful, a bit careless yet fun to spend time with. He liked to try different foods and walking around the neighborhood instead of going to the mall.

 

“I don’t really like crowded place, Master. Once in a while it’s okay, but I prefer to be with those who I’m close with. Meeting new person who has the same hobby as me is different, though! I know we have something in common so it won’t be hard for me to talk with them.” Tao said one day after they had a basketball match on Jongin’s university.

 

Jongin introduced Tao as his distant relatives to his friends before they all played for around an hour after their classes. Tao had so much fun that he requested if he could do it again next week.

 

“I’ll be sure to tell my friends, Tao.”

 

“Thank you, master!” Tao grinned, eyes sparkling and looking so excited he couldn’t wait for their next match.

 

Jongin laughed softly, ruffling Tao’s hair who grinned back at him, “Want to buy some cake on our way back?”

  
  
  
  
  


Jongdae loved to cook, he wanted to try many recipes and Jongin needed to relay his questions to his mother who was a great chef. Jongin remembered his grandpa’s notes, the one who had information about each signs. He thought that maybe he should add more facts on the blank pages.

 

Jongin regretted letting Jongdae have so much fun on the kitchen because his stomach starting to show as Jongdae pouted at him when he refused to eat too much of Jongdae’s food.

 

“Master!”

 

Jongin jerked when Jongdae showed up on the bathroom where Jongin was at, “Dae…” he sighed, releasing his shirt to covered his stomach back.

 

“Oh, master, I’m so sorry...did I do that? Did my food…” Jongdae slowly walked in, eyebrows frowning, “I’m so sorry master, I’ll start making healthy food for you tomorrow!”

 

Jongin chuckled, “That’s not a bad idea. I really enjoy your food, but I think because I’ve been busy with studying and lazying around, my stomach has become like this,” he patted his own stomach.

 

“Alright, I’ll make sure in two weeks you’ll have your abs back, master!”

 

It sounded so innocent but at the same time it embarrassed Jongin that he had one hand covering his face, shaking his head, “Can you go outside now, Jongdae? I want to take a bath.”

 

“Roger, master!” Jongdae grinned, giving a salute before he went out of the bathroom.

  
  


Saying goodbye to Jongdae was hard, but Yixing the Libra, promised that he would bring Jongdae once in a while. Yixing was calm, all smiles and liked to watch Jongin doing his things to the point it made Jongin uncomfortable.

 

“Yixing?”

 

“Yes, master?”

 

Jongin pursed his lips, coming near Yixing who was lying on his bed and watching as he prepared for class. Yixing blinked, waiting for Jongin to say something.

 

“Don’t you feel bored?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Don’t you want to do anything here? All the other signs already listed things they wanted to do. How about you?” Jongin smiled.

 

Yixing frowned, “I did make a list. I just don’t want to disturb you. Aren’t you busy?”

 

“I’ll make some time for you. I feel bad that you don’t do anything here…” Jongin patted Yixing’s arm before he stood up. “Tell me about it when I got back later, alright?”

 

“Yes, master Jongin.”

 

Yixing gave Jongin a list of things he wanted to do that night, making Jongin laughed because Yixing had been so considerate of his schedule. He added a note in the end, saying that he wouldn’t force Jongin to do all of them if he didn’t have time. Jongin made sure to do two things on that list that week, making Yixing’s eyes sparkled. Yixing poofed into his child form before he jumped on Jongin who thankfully caught him.

 

“It’s a good thing you turned your form first,” Jongin laughed, patting Yixing’s head.

 

“I love you, master Jongin!”

 

 

  
  


“Kyungsoo was right, this is fun,” Yixing said as he leaned on his chair, patting his stomach.

 

Jongin blinked, staring at a content Yixing with his sleepy eyes. “What are you talking about?”

 

Yixing grinned, “Kyungsoo told me about what he did when he was in here and I’m so happy to have fun with you. Not only him, but all of the other signs had told me about their experiences and I actually can’t wait until my month came.”

 

Jongin smiled despite the small tug on his chest, “I’m relieved if you guys like the experiences you got here.”

 

 

 

 

For two more months Jongin didn’t make any contact with Kyungsoo. Both Scorpio and Sagitarius, Yifan and Chanyeol seemed to be fond for some reasons with Kyungsoo that Jongin had to be reminded again about his zodiac’s spirit.

 

“Don’t worry about him. He already had his time shares this year, I’m sure he’ll be able to wait for few months,” Jongin said when Chanyeol came with Yifan.

 

Chanyeol and Yifan exchanged stares and Jongin distracted them both, saying that he had a plan he wanted to do with Chanyeol who caused the scorpio’s eyes to sparkled and grinned excitedly, telling Yifan to go back to the spirit world. Yifan pouted at Chanyeol for a moment, before turning to Jongin.

 

“See you soon, master Jongin.” Smiled Yifan.

  


 

When it was nearing New Year, Jongin couldn’t help but got nervous. He tried not to, but Chanyeol could still see it, even teased him about it.

 

“Are you nervous because of Kyungsoo?” Chanyeol asked on his last day, a teasing smirk on his lips. Even on his child form, Jongin could imagine how it would looked on his adult form and irked him a bit.

 

“No,” Jongin replied simply, staring at Chanyeol who pursed his lips.

 

“You’re just as stubborn as he is, master.”

 

Jongin narrowed his eyes at Chanyeol who grinned, “I know that already…”

 

“You’re going to see him tomorrow anyway. It’s not like you can ran from each other anymore…”

 

Jongin groaned, letting Chanyeol laughed at him. Only hours left until Kyungsoo would show up before Jongin’s eyes. What would the Capricorn do after Jongin avoided them for months?

 

 

 

 

 

When Jongin woke up the next day, there was no Kyungsoo. Jongin sighed, getting ready to go to his class. Trying not to think of Kyyngsoo, Jongin sang and hummed while taking a bath and wearing his clothes.

 

He froze when he went out of the bathroom, seeing an adult form Kyungsoo on his bed.

 

"Jongin,"

 

"Kyungsoo, you’re her—" Kyungsoo ran to him, hugging him tightly.

 

"I'm sorry, Jongin. Please don't hate me, please don't forbid me from seeing you. I'm so sorry for all the rules that I've broke, I'm really sorry and I won't do it anymore." Kyungsoo sobbed.

 

"Wait, what? No, Kyungsoo, let go of me first—"

 

"No, I won't! You'll run from me!"

 

Jongin blinked, small laughs coming out as he patted Kyungsoo's back, "What do you mean? Of course I won't run from you, why would I do that?"

 

"Because you hate me, Jongin."

 

"I actually wanted to ask if you hate me as you've never visited me again."

 

"I can't, it means that I'm breaking the rules again. I decided to wait until it's my month even if it's...hurting me not being able to see you..." Kyungsoo whispered, slowly pulling himself a bit and looked up to Jongin behind his bangs.

 

"You should've told me, relaying the message through other signs or letters?" Jongin smiled. Kyungsoo looked so different on his adult form, more handsome and giving a little tingly feeling inside his heart because he was not a child that he could hug anytime he wanted.

 

"I'm afraid you won't reply to it," Kyungsoo shook his head, eyes down to his feet.

 

"But what if I do reply to it?"

 

"I'd be happy..."

 

"You won't feel as miserable as now, right?"

 

"Yes..."

 

"Next time just send me a letter whenever you want and I'll make sure to reply it, okay?" Jongin said gently, caressing Kyungsoo's back. He chuckled when Kyungsoo went to hug him again. "It's so weird to have you hugging me like this. You're big now."

 

"Do you hate it?"

 

"Nope, I like both of your forms. I won't hate any of you, Kyungsoo. You're all precious and not all people had the privilege to see you," Jongin replied, hugging Kyungsoo back.

 

"Can I sleep here this month?" Kyungsoo asked in a whisper.

 

"Yes, you can."

 

"Can we go and eat cake together now?"

 

"Yes, we can do it today."

 

"And go to the amusement park, to the mall, playing other sports too?"

 

Jongin laughed hard, squeezing Kyungsoo because he was just so cute, "Yes, yes, just give me the list and I'll make sure we do all of it, Kyungsoo."

 

Kyungsoo pulled way, smiling up at Jongin; crinkling his eyes and forming a heart shaped smile, "Thank you, master Jongin, I love you so much."

 

Jongin stared for a moment. He felt the heat crawling on his face before he held Kyungsoo again, "You might want to stop saying that, it embarrassed me."

 

"But why? I do love you, master. All of us, actually. You mean a lot to us."

 

Jongin sighed, shutting his eyes and breathe on Kyungsoo's spring scent. "I love you guys too. I'm glad I can meet all of you."

 

"But Jongin?"

 

"Hmm?"

 

Jongin frowned when Kyungsoo wriggled, trying to get off of his hold.

 

"All the signs want to invite you to our world to celebrate your birthday, will you come?" Kyungsoo tilted his head, covering one his eyes with his bangs.

 

"I will," Jongin nodded. "When is your birthday?" he lifted his hand to brush Kyungsoo’s bangs aside.

 

Kyungsoo grinned, "2 days before your birthday, Jongin."

 

"Oh. That's close." Jongin suddenly remembered that he once read it on the book belonged to his grandpa's.

 

"Yes. Don't forget to give me another present, yeah?" Kyungsoo looked smug as he showed off the Sakura enamel Jongin gave to him before. The pink of it was such a contrast to Kyungsoo’s grey hanbok.

 

"That's right, I haven't given anything for you guys..." Jongin pursed his lips, the other signs' faces showed up on his head.

 

"It's not a problem, I'm sure they understand. Just you alone is already enough, master!" Kyungsoo put a hand on Jongin's chest, smiling warmly to him.

 

"How about we buy some cakes for them too?" Jongin asked, laughing when Kyungsoo's eyes sparkled at the idea.

 

"That's a great idea, Jongin! I'm sure they'll love it!"

  
  


Kyungsoo started sending letters when February came. He told a lot of stories about what he did with the other signs, mostly having fun, sometimes arguing about small things.

 

There were no more punishments anymore as Jongin officially erased that rule. He also added one more rules of how he would go to the spirit world once every two or three months.

 

Jongin tried to be fair with all of the signs, but maybe, Kyungsoo was a little more special for him because they shared the same zodiac. Kyungsoo sometimes could read him better than the others and Jongin liked that.

 

He didn't know how things would change in the future when he would grow old but for now, he had so many new friends that needed him and loved him so much he knew he wouldn't get lonely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Master Jongin, wake up! You're going to be late to your first day of work!"

 

Jongin whined hearing Junmyeon's voice, trying to curl up more into his blanket.

 

"Master, you don't want to give a bad impression to your new colleagues, right?" Another deep voice sounded, making Jongin opened one eye to see that Yifan was there too.

 

Jongin smiled, seeing the two of them.

 

Now the sign could bring another sign when they felt to and Jongin had no problem with that. Waiting for another year until their month came would be too long, so Jongin let the signs arranged themselves whenever they missed Jongin.

 

"Good morning to you two," Jongin said.

 

Jongin was worried that now he was working he would have less time to spend with the signs. The signs understood, giving Jongin his spaces and even asking him about his working schedules.

 

Sometimes it almost felt like having kids, other times Jongin felt like he had many friends and at times a lot of brothers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"You're so lucky to be able to meet them, Jongin," Jongin's father said one day when Jongin told his parents about what he did when he went to the spirit world.

 

And yes, Jongin felt lucky to have twelve spirits surrounding him and making his life more colourful.

 


End file.
